eSIM — Iran

Le volume de données dont vous avez vraiment besoin

Whatever you end up using depends on the local SIM available at the time. In practice it goes on city maps and messaging, because the desert crossings and mountain roads between cities have little service anyway.

À l'atterrissage

The main gateway is Imam Khomeini International in Tehran (IKA), while Mehrabad (THR) handles mostly domestic flights. Mashhad (MHD), Shiraz (SYZ), Isfahan (IFN) and Tabriz (TBZ) also take international services. Overland there is Bazargan for Turkey, Astara for Azerbaijan and Mirjaveh for Pakistan, and the procedure at each of those crossings differs considerably.

Où la couverture change

The network clusters in the big cities and along the highways linking Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd and Mashhad. What has effectively nothing is the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts through the middle of the country, the steep Zagros and Alborz ranges, and the long roads near the eastern borders where you can drive for hours without passing a town.

Villes qui intéressent les voyageurs

• Tehran: Capital below the Alborz, with a multi-line metro and heavy traffic.
• Isfahan: Naqsh-e Jahan square, the old bridges and a vast covered bazaar.
• Shiraz: City of gardens and poets, and the base for Persepolis outside town.
• Yazd: Mud-brick desert city of narrow lanes and wind towers.
• Mashhad: Pilgrimage city in the north-east, busy with visitors all year.

Applications à installer avant de décoller

• An offline map app such as OsmAnd, downloaded before you travel
• Snapp or Tap30, the ride-hailing apps people in the cities actually use
• Neshan, the local map app with better street and shop detail